Hey Folks!

Writing this from the car on the way to the lake via hotspot. (Chandler says hi!) A couple things on my mind…

1. Career in 7 Year Cycles (New phase starting!): Does anyone else’s career seem to run in seven-year cycles? For me it was first a private hedge fund that ended up buying an entertainment company. Then seven years as CEO of Cladwell, until we sold almost exactly seven years ago. And the past seven years I’ve been a fractional CMO running Allsmith.org. Which brings me to now: there are actually a couple big changes happening on my end! I’m not ready to say what yet, but I will be soon! Seven years ago I made this video and article on the 70 lessons I learned in 7 years as a startup CEO. So I’m using this email to commit publicly: within the next month I’ll make a new one covering what I’ve learned over the last seven years, and I’ll announce what I’m doing next in it. Please hold me to it!

2. Ooma MyPhone: Two weeks ago we got an Ooma MyPhone. (We wanted a TinCan, but they were on backorder.) It’s essentially a digital landline built for kids: no screen or apps or anything and we control exactly which numbers can call in and which numbers they can dial out to. It was like $100 for the phone, plus $8 a month for service. Since it showed up, the kids have called their grandparents or their cousins in Virginia pretty much every day. Our four-year-old also invited the police over for a visit…(lesson learned!) What I’m most excited about is the extended family piece: I can already see those relationships deepening simply because there’s now a low-friction way for a kid to pick up a phone and call someone they love. The phone etiquette they’re picking up along the way is a nice bonus.

3. Bring The Future To The Present: Chandler and I reminded each other of this a few days ago. When a kid starts showing a bad behavior, a big part of our job is to give them a full-resolution picture of what their life will look like in the future if they never correct it, and an equally compelling picture of what it looks like if they adopt something better. Jordan Peterson talks about “life visioning,” where you have something you’re running toward and something you’re running from. Parenting is often doing that on our children’s behalf until they can do it for themselves. That’s how correction stops being just about behavior control and starts rewiring their instincts and desires toward thriving.

That’s it for this week!

Best,

Blake